A new survey of British workers has revealed some of the problems that underpin the UK's chronic productivity problem — namely, too many emails and meetings.

The UK State of Work report, by productivity specialistsWorkfront, found that workers spend less than 40% of the day actually doing their primary duties, due to a culture of excessive meetings and emails.

The UK lags behind many other European countries in terms of productivity, and boosting it is seen as a central means of improving a stagnant economy. Philip Hammond, the UK chancellor, referred to the productivity problem several times in his speech at the Conservative party's conference this week.

The Workfront survey was conducted among 600 UK adults who work at a company of over 500 people. Here are some of the highlights from the report:

Workers estimated they spend just 38% of their week doing their primary job.

Image: Workfront

Workers are at their least productive between midday and 3pm — the post-lunch lull will be familiar in many offices.

Image: Workfront

Despite all the evidence to the contrary, Brits count themselves as very productive...